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Separation of Liability Program
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Spouses who file a joint income tax return are both responsible for the full amount of tax, penalty, and interest owed. If you are now divorced, legally separated, or widowed, you may ask the Minnesota Department of Revenue to adjust your income tax debt under the Separation of Liability Program.
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You're responsible only for your part of the income tax debt. We divide the debt based on each spouse's income, deductions, credits, exemptions, payments, and refunds. If any of these items apply to both spouses jointly, we divide them. If we audited (changed) your joint return, we divide the debt based on our assessment. (See Minnesota Rule 8160.0500, subpart 3.)
Send us a letter asking for help under the Separation of Liability Program. You must send us:
- A signed letter including your name, the last four digits of your Social Security Number, your phone number, and the tax years you need help with.
- A copy of your final divorce decree, final separation agreement, or your spouse’s death certificate. If you’re divorced, send the first page of the decree stamped by the courts and listing the parties involved, and the page where the judge signed the order.
Note: We do not honor divorce decrees, even if they state that you are not liable for tax debt. We may collect state tax debt from either spouse. You will need to seek repayment from your spouse or former spouse on your own.
Mail your request letter to:
Minnesota Department of Revenue
Mail Station 7701
600 N. Robert St.
St. Paul, MN 55146-7701
We will review your application and may contact you to ask for more information. We will send a letter notifying you if you qualify for the program:
- If you do not qualify, the letter will explain why.
- If you do qualify, the letter will explain our proposal to calculate your portion of the debt.
| If |
Then |
| You agree with our proposal |
You do not need to take action. |
| You disagree with our proposal |
You must send us documents showing why our proposal is incorrect within 30 days of our letter. |
| We do not hear from you within 30 days |
We will consider your request complete and make our final determination. |
Note: Until your request is complete, we will keep applying your tax refunds to the debt.
We will send you and your spouse or former spouse a final determination letter stating the amount you each owe. Either of you may appeal to Minnesota Tax Court if you disagree with our final determination.
You are responsible for your assigned part of the tax debt. We will send you a refund if you overpaid your part of the debt and are entitled to a refund.
Your payments will reduce the amount you owe. If you paid more than you owe, we will send you a refund of any overpayments made up to 60 days before you applied for the Separation of Liability Program. If you owe other tax or government debts, we will apply your refund to those debts.
Note: We cannot refund any overpayments you made more than 60 days before you applied for the program. Also we cannot apply payments to other tax years or debts.
The Separation of Liability Program only applies to Individual Income Tax debt. Both spouses are responsible for any Property Tax Refund debt.
Please contact us at 651-556-3003 or 1-800-657-3909 to make payment arrangements for your Property Tax Refund debt.
